Smyrna times., 1887-03-16

The next afternoon was going down
to Staten Island to a reception, and as |
had but two or three days in town, and |
was extremely busy, and knew that it
would be SO far down town unless went |
on purpose, l took a carriage to the ferry, |
and on the way down stopped at the |
Adams Express company.
1 stated to the first man, who stood |
near the doorway and who seemed to be- |
long to the place, that had come to find
a missing bundle and asked of whom |
should inquire. He waived me aside with
quite magnificent gesture and said:
you'd better ask one of the clerks. -
felt crushed but tried not to look so,
and went still deeper into the gloom and
dust, seeing in the far distance two west
ern windows that seemed to catch some
dim radiance from some source far above.
l went on, and presently a young man
met me, who appeared to look astonished,
but he was very polite l said, Il came
to inquire about a missing bundle" " and
began my story. He said in the middle
of my first sentence:
"Will you kindly come this way to the
Officer"
So / followed him.
When first entered the doors couldn't
sec a man, but suddenly they seemed to
grow up everywhere. Every huge box
seemed to have a head behind it, and they
all had eyes, and they were all looking at
me. l felt very awkward and out of place,
and for the time being / wish never had
been born.
At last we reached small glass inclosed
space, when my guide opened pew kind
of a door, and said, ga lady about lost
bundle, - and found myself standing be-
| fore a man that terrified me so-and l am
| not timid wOman-that l haven't an
| idea what he looked like, except that he
| seemed inoffensive in every way. He
offered me a chair, and | sat down and
tried to make myself believe that this
man was not really the whole Adams Ex-
| press company; for this was the reason he
| seemed so terrifying After a while l
! wUs able to tell him pretty clearly about
my lost bundle.
l accurately described its appearance
and size, and all l knew about it, and
| also all did not know about its contents
| He listened very politely, and then he gave
| me blow that seemed to be entirely out
of rule He said:
"Havc you inquired for it at the office
Of the Hotel Brunswick?'
''N-O-O," said doubtfully, "but sup
| pose Mr.. Haven did,
"Ah, yes, +" he said. "Wen have you
been to the Twenty-third street office? 1t
would naturally have gone there"
''NO, l said, II haven't inquired any
where but here. Mr.. Haven told me to
come here"
''Wellr'
''He didn't say much more; neither did
/. He took my name and address, and
then he opened the door for me, and said
I, Il.
bundle found, and that Lshould hear from
him. And as l walked ont it didn't seem
to me that had done much about finding
my bundle by inquiring at headquarters.
The next day l went to the Hotel
Brunswick, and a clerk came up into the
parlor and saw me.
BY that time was rather tired of telling
my story, and 50 I went over it as rapidly as
possible The clerk listened as politely as
the august representative Of the express
company had done, and when had finished
he assured me that the matter should at
once be attended to, and that the bundle
would certainly be found ''in the neaI
future" l was very much impressed by
that phrase, as he probably meant should
be. He said:
1T stands to reason that it must bC
found We never send away a bundle
without taking Il receipt"
SO saying he politely ended, and / go
myself out on the sidewalk, and felt a
first pretty sure of my bundle, but OF
second thought felt somewhat doubtful
| They all assured me it would be found
and yet-well, l began to feel very doubt
| full.
The next day l went home / waited
month for an answer to my letter to m,
sister. But when did receive a lette
from her it was not an answer to mine
which had evidently not reached her, a
she only spoke of the receipt of letter o
n date some two weeks previous.
To make a long story short l may sa.
that never got an answer to my letter t,
my sister She was travelling about, ant
her letters were short, and only full 0
daily experiences. But it seemed exceed
ingly strange to me that she made no al
. lusion at all to the letter about the bun
die In each of my letters to her l spOk
of my letter and asked her to tell m
about it, what was in it? was she sure o
her address, etc.
! Finally. feeling sure that that particu
| lar and most important letter had beel
lost, / wrote n duplicate of it, as nearly a
could, and sent it off. In the meantim
/ had received two letters: one from tn
! Adams Express company, in which the
said that they could find no trace of tn
lost bundle, and also that no receipt cOul
be found for it either in their books or i
the Hotel Brunswick
received also letter from the Hote
: Brunswick.
1t was of the same tenor; they had n
, record; they regretted extremely the los
!, and annoyance to me and to Mr.. Haver
: They stated explicitly that no suspicio
! could be attached to the clerk who ha
4 left them, and regretted that they weT
: unable to give me his address.
t The bundle was no longer ''missing
e II WAS
r felt resig led. consOled myself l Ieve
e became glad | reelected that if it had bee
t stockings of rare and peculiar quality
i and certainly my sister, knowing my ia!
tidious taste, wouldn't have sent m
y common silk stOckings-that they migl
have been the cause of producing all sort
# of disasters.
: For instance, if they had been sill
d stockings of uncommon beauty, ShOul
; have no shoes to match l might hav
found something at O'Neils to mattel
Q or if not to match, to do tOlerably. An
r good gracious there would have been
pretty bill TO pay. Then my dress wOul
i nave Utlll 10 DC Ol u Sliilplc tlcSttllCCs
it We all know what that means. ''Simp
W elegance" is the most expensive kind {
elegance in the market To dress in sin
" pie elegance and sit in an ordinary parlC
would have been impossible. To mai
y over my parlOr, and fit my clothes wOul
s. have been financial ruin to my HUSBAND
a and moral ruin to my boys.
r. But l did want to know what was
e. the bundle, and / did want it found, b.
ID cause it might have been something els
1t that wasn't moral and financial ruin.
l. The months wore away and it was 81
II months since l had first heard of m
ID bundle. 1t was December, and my sist'
y. was coming home, and all that time Ina
ne passed without having heard wOI
T. about the bundle. / went to New YOT
g to meet Mrs. Bowen, but / had drea'
ly full cold ON my lungs and could scarcel
- speak, and as / was visiting far up stree
y = did not go to the dock to meet her, bI
:, waited till she reached the hotel; and
- walked into the BrevOOrt house half a
hour after she reached there. After tiN
- minutes of saying, 'HOw do you dol
~ care you awfully tired?" 'Did you hay
~ a rough timer TOO bad you we
- sicllp' There never is anything else
n say when your dearest friends have bee
- gone few years-at least, not at first,
. said:
!, 'FOr PHYS sake, do tell me what WI
~ in, that 1,Y1n1la Won sent Ulnr'